Biography and education
2016 PhD, Department of Geography, University of Oregon
Dissertation—Understanding Hydropower in China, Balancing Energy
Security, Development and Environmental Sustainability in the Nu River
Valley of Yunnan Province
2010 M.A, Department of Geography, University of Oregon
2007 B.Sc. Hons, Macquarie University, Sydney
2006 B.Sc., Macquarie University, Sydney
Dissertation—Understanding Hydropower in China, Balancing Energy
Security, Development and Environmental Sustainability in the Nu River
Valley of Yunnan Province
2010 M.A, Department of Geography, University of Oregon
2007 B.Sc. Hons, Macquarie University, Sydney
2006 B.Sc., Macquarie University, Sydney
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Speed, Jennifer (Principal), Hwang, Sangchul Scott (Co-Principal), Ptak, Thomas Walter (Co-Principal), Yeon, Jung Heum (Co-Principal), Pemberton, Sue Ann (Co-Principal). Wilson Historic District Energy and Water Conservation Study, Meadows Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $150000. (Funded: December 10, 2024 - May 31, 2025). Grant.
- Ptak, Thomas Walter. Multi-Criteria Analysis of Climate-Related Hazards and Compounding Risks for Vulnerable Populations across Central Texas, Division of Research, Texas State University, $6560. (Submitted: 2024, Funded: 2025). Grant.
- Ptak, Thomas Walter. New Modes of Energy Security, Charles Koch Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $54000. (Funded: 2020 - 2021). Grant.
- Ptak, Thomas Walter. Stakeholder Interest Framework for Western United States Irrigation Modernization, United States Geological Survey, Federal, $36069.37. (Funded: 2020). Grant.
- Ptak, Thomas Walter. Interdisciplinary Grant, University of Idaho College of Letters Arts and Social Sciences, Institutional (Higher Ed), $9879. (Funded: 2019). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Ptak, T. W., Crootof, A., Harlan, T., & Kelly, S. (2022). Critically analyzing the purported global “boom” in small hydropower development through spatial and temporal analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 163. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112490
- Abatzoglou, J. T., Smith, C. M., Swain, D. L., Ptak, T. W., & Kolden, C. A. (2020). Population exposure to pre-emptive de-energization aimed at averting wildfires in Northern California. Environmental Research Letters, 15(9). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba135
- Radil, S. M., Castan Pinos, J., & Ptak, T. W. (2020). Borders resurgent: towards a post-Covid-19 global border regime? Space and Polity, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562576.2020.1773254
- Ptak, T. W., Laine, J. P., Hu, Z., Liu, Y., Konrad, V., & van der Velde, M. (2020). Understanding borders through dynamic processes: capturing relational motion from south-west China’s radiation centre. Territory, Politics, Governance. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2020.1764861
- Ptak, T. W. (2019). Towards an ethnography of small hydropower in China: Rural electrification, socioeconomic development and furtive hydroscapes. Energy Research and Social Science, 48, 116–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.09.010
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Favorite Professor Award, Alpha Chi Honor Society. 2024
- Award / Honor Recipient: Most inspirational faculty member, Department of Geography and Geological Sciences, University of Idaho. May 2021
- Award / Honor Recipient: Recognition Award, Asian Geography Specialty Group. 2016
- Award / Honor Recipient: Best Panel Award, University of Oregon Graduate School Research Forum. 2015
- Award / Honor Recipient: President’s Award for best PhD Student Paper, Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. 2014
Featured service activities
- Member
Climate Action Task Force: American Association of Geographers
- Member
Center for Advanced Energy Studies, Energy Policy Institute
- Chair
Alumni Committee
- Member
Promotion Committee
- Chair
American Association of Geographers, Energy and Environment Specialty Group
- Member
Undergraduate Committee